Feed water regulator



Sept; 1931. v. v. .VQEENSCHOTEN 1,824,970

F E ED WATER REGULATOR Filed Nov. 24, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 29, 1931.

v. v. VEENSCHOTEN 1,824,970

FEED WATER REGULATOR Filed Nov. 24; 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

V/hcen/ Veensc/ro/en Patented Sept. 29, 1931 VINCENT V. VEENSCHOTEN,

UM? STATES. A

or )ERIEQPENNSYLVANIA', ASSiGNOB' r NORTHERN E roFFIcE f EQUIPMENT COMPANY, or ERIE, FENNSYLVANIA, A conroaa'rxon or PENNSYL- VANIA FEED WATER REGULATOR This invention relates to feed-water regulators for boilers and particularly for boilers of special designs which are Worked ordinarily at a very high rating. The invention is particularly applicable to boilers consisting of a water drum and a steam drum mounted over the water drum and connectedtherewith with suitable pipes. One purpose of this arrangement ofthe drums is to'provide steam as free as possible from moisture.

One object of my invention is to feed water to the boiler so as to control suit-ably the Water level elevation in the water drum, and a feature of the control is that the amount of steam that is'being drawn from the steam drum, that is the load on the boiler, as Well as the water level in'the lower drum,affect the rate of speed of Water to the'boiler.

Of the accompanying drawings Figpl i3 is a side elevation of a boiler and a feed Water system which embodies the feature of my invention; Fig; 2 is an'end elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail View of certain portions of the feed-water regulators of the system; Fig. 4 is an-elevation of. the regulator system applied to a somewhat modified boiler system; and Fig. 5 shows another modification in the boiler system. k i p Although material modifications might be made in the boiler systems to'whichmy feed-- water regulator system is applicable, yet, for

the purposes of illustratiom'l show the system applied to a boiler. comprisinga main drum 5, a steam drum 6, and a system of Water pipes 7. The main drum is mounted over and connected to the pipe system no the ordinary manner so that Water or steam is free to flow from the pipes to the main i drum and the steam drum is connected wlth the main drum by a series of pipes 8. r The,

normal or average water level is maintained in the main drum 5. When 11'l"013613,t1011, the steam .passesfrom this drum through the pipes 8 to the steam drum :6. But, it will be understood that, -When' steam is being drawn from the steam drum 6 through the steam main9 the pressure inthe steam drum will fallsomewhat below the pressure mthe main drum 5 and this fall in pressure is made. use of in the application of the feed- Water system. v

The feed-water system comprises .a'feed water thermostat controller :10 which, as is usual, is connected to the steam space of the ruin 5 by means of a pipe 11 and to the Water space of the drum 5 by means ofpipes 12 and 13. Because of this arrangement the water in the pipe 10 stands substantially at the same general levelas. thev water in the drum 5. The thermostat 10 is mounted on a frame. 15 which is 'fiXedin position, and the upperend of the thermostat is fixed to the frame, as is indicated by Fig. 3. The lower end of the thermostat communicates with the head 18, by means'of which the tube is pivotally connected to a, bell crank lever 19, the lever beingpivoted by the. fulcrum to the frame 15;] The 'armq2l of the lever is pivoted to asecond lever 22- which, in turn, is'connected,'by means'ofa link 23, to the arm 24 of the feed-Water valve 25.

In operation, as the water in the drum 5 lowers, some of the Water will pass out of the thermostat 10 and will be replaced by steam. As a consequence the tube will expand and, assuming the fulcrum 27 to be fixed, the outer end of the lever 22 will be 1 raised, raising the arm 24 and opening more the feed-water valve Aside from the lever arrangement this is substantially the same as the operation. of the Well known Copes feed-water regulators. I

However, I provide'i-n the system a second thermostat tube 30 which is inclined or, preferably, is verticallymounted on a vertical frame 31. The upper end of the tube 30 is adjustably fixed by means of the nuts 32. Also, the upper endof the tube BOis connected, by means of a pipe 33, withthe steam drum 6,.and the lower end is, con- ".nected, by means of a pipe 34 and the pipe 13, with the Water space of the drum 5. The lower endofthe'thermostat 30 ispivotally connected to thelever22 by means of the fulcrun127. "It will thus be seen" that, if there is' no change in the tubeBO, the operation of the feed-water valvewill be as hereinabove set'forth by means of the tube 10. But,'if,'

for any reason, the tube should expand or contract this also will affect the movement of the lever 22 and the amount of opening of the feed-water valve.

Whenin operation, as steam is drawn from the steam drum 6 there will be a drop in pressure in this drum owing to the some- 'what restricted connection between the two drums by means of the pipes 8. As a consequence'of the pressure in the drum 5 being greater than in the drum 6,.the water in the pipe 13 will be forced upwardly into the tube 30, and, hence, in normal operation, the water will stand at a certain level in the tube 30. It isto: be understood that crum 27 will be elevated, the link 23 will be raised, and the opening of the valve 25 will be increased so as to pass into the system more water to take care of the increase of the load on the boiler. Conversely, if less steam is drawn from the drum 6 the pressuretherein will increase,vthe water in the tube 30 will sink, and the tube will expand, allowingthe feed-water valve to close-somewhat more and thus reduce the flow of water to the boiler. I

- In this way the vertical thermostat in general controls the change of feed desirable to take care of'changes in load, and the inclined thermostat compensates for anyvover or under feeding which would tend to change the water level in the main drum too much.

The inclined thermostat is also a safety factor, as,- bemg 1ncl1ned, var1at1ons in water level which exceed the desired limit will affect the temperature sufficiently to either open wide or entirely close the feed-water valve, as the case may be. 7

But the inc'lined'tube has an additional secondary purpose and that is to retard the change in water inflow so as to'lessen the burden on the fire when the change occurs. When the heavy load comes on, the steam flow effect will take 1 care of the increased water flow needed. This effect, however,will lag inits act-ion and-thewa ter will sink temporarily materially because of the increased flowiiofsteam. The inclined tube will open wider'the water valve to compensate for this lag, allowing more water to flow than is required until the normal level is again reached. Whenthis level is reached,

the inclined tube will provide exactly the same amount of water as before, as its effect 7 the steam main to'the boiler. rangemen't, there will be more or less of a:

on the valve for a given water level elevation will always be the same. But the steam flow effect will supply the needed increase in water so that the level will again remain constant. In the meantime, however, when the fire is struggling to meet the increased needs, the water level effect on the vertical tube will cause it to buck against the inclined tube and retard the increasedopening of the water valve by the inclined tube and, hence, to reduce the increased flow of water until the fire has a chance to catch up.

It is truethat these two regulators at times buck against each other, but the effect of the'water changes on the inclined tube is far greater than on the vertical tube. Hence, no'particular disadvantage can result and the main function of the inclined tube is in no way affected.

Also, by connecting the vertical tube beneath the water level, maintenance of water at all times in the vertical tube is provided for. If not so connected, a tank would have to be connectedin the pipe 34 tosupply water to the vertical tube as the water therein rose. By connecting the lower end of the vertical tube to the water pipe of the inclined tube, the installation is much simplified and the water cannot be inadvertently forced out of the vertical tube.

It will be seen that my invention is based upon the difference in pressure between the: steam in the two drums. But the invention applies equally as well to any boiler system having .a'difference in the steam pressure at two points. To illustrate this, Fig. 4 indicates a boiler feed-water regulator system in, which the boiler 35' has a super-heater 36 connected therewith in an ordinary manner, shown diagrammatically in the figure. The steam flows from the boiler through the super-heater and finally through the steam main 37. In thisinstance the regulator 30 has its lower end connected to the boiler 35,v

asin the former case, but has its upper end connected to the super-heater pipe 39 by means of a pipe 38. As is well understood the steam pressure at the point of connection of the pipe 38 to the pipe39 would be,

in normal operation, lower than the steam pressure in the boiler 35. As a consequence the operation of the regulator 30 in this instance would be substantially the same as the operation in case of Figs. 1 and 2.

Various other methods of connecting up the system would produce substantially the same results. In Fig. '5 I. have illustrated a system in'which the regulator 30 is connectedbetween the main drum of the boiler 40 and the steam main 41 and in parallel with a valve 42 in the pipe 43 connecting By this ardrop of pressure through the valve, and, hence, more or less operatlonof the regulator 30, as variations in the demand for steam occur. The effect of the regulator can be varied by varying the size of the orifice of the valve 42.

I claim as my invention 1-- 1. The combination of a boiler and a feedwater regulator system therefor, said boiler comprising a feed-water valve, a' water space, an adjacent steam space, and a more remote steam space, said regulator system operatively communicating with the saidwater space, with the said adjacent steam space, and with the said remote steam space, and means operatively connecting said regulator system with said valve, said regulator system comprising two feed-water regulators, each of said regulators communicating with said water space, one communicating with said adjacent steam space materially above the normal water level elevation therein and the other with said remote steam space, each of said regulators being independently operatively connected to said water space.

2. The combination of a boiler and two thermostat tubes, said boiler having a feedwater valve and a steam and a water space and a steam main communicating with said steam space, one end of each of said tubes communicating with said water space, the other end of one tube communicating with said steam space adjacent the point of communication therewith of said main the other end of the other tube communicating with said steam main at a point remote from the point of communication of said main with said steam space, each of said tubes being operatively connected with said valve.

3. The combination ofa boiler and two thermostat tubes, said boiler having a feedwater valve and a steam and a water space, and a steam main communicating with said steam space, one end of each of said tubes communicating with said water space, the

other end of one tube communicating with said steam space adj acent' the point of communication therewith of said main, the other end of the other tube communicating with 7 said steam main at a point remote from the point of communication of said main with said steam space, each of said tubes being operatively connected with said valve, one of said tubes being inclined more and the other less than to the horizontal.

4:. A combination of a boiler and a teedwater regulator systei'n'therefor, said boiler comprising a steam and a water space and a feed-water valve, and a steam main cons nccted with said steam space, said regulator system comprising two thermostats, the respective ends of one thermostat being connected to the steam spaceand the water space of the boiler, the other thermostat being connected to the water space of said' boiler and to said-steam main, the remote ends ofdsaid thermostats being fixed, and levers operatively connecting together .the adjacent ends of said thermostats and operatively' connecting them to said feed-water valve.

5. The combination of a boilerand a feedwater regulatorsystem therefor, said system comprising a thermostatic tube operas tively connected. at one. end'to the boiler below the water line, means depending on the operation of the boilerfor maintaining a water columnin said tube and for varying the length of said column directly with the variations in load on the boiler, a feed-water valve for passing water into the boiler of the i system, and means operatively connecting said tube and valve and arranged to open said valve as the tube contracts in length.

6; The combination of a boiler and two feed-water regulating thermostats, said boiler having a feed-water valve, a waterspace, a steam space adjacent said water space and a steam space more remote from said water space, each thermostat communicating at all times with said water space, one communicating at all times with said adjacent steam space and the other with said remote steam space, the adjacent ends of said thermostats being operatively connected with each other and with said valve, the remote ends of said thermostats being fixed.

7. In a steam boiler system having a steam main and a feed-water valve for passing water to said boiler, in combination with means for increasing the magnitude of the opening of said valve directly with the increases in difierences in static pressures of the steam in said boiler and in said steam main, said means comprising a'feed water regulator operatively connected with said valve and with said main and also with said boiler.

8. The combination of a boiler and two thermostat tubes, a steam drum operatively connected to said boiler, said boiler having a teed-water valve and a steam and a water space and a steam main communicating with said steam space, one end of each of said tubes communicating with said water space, the other end of one tube communicating with said steam space,and the other end of the, other tube communicating with said steam drum, each of said tubes being operatively connected with said valve.

9. Acombination'of a boiler and a feedwater regulator system therefor, said boiler comprising a steam and water drum, a steam drum, and a feed-water valve, and a steam main connected with said steam drum, said regulator systemv comprising two thermostats, the respective ends of one thermostat being connected to the steam space and the water spaceof the steam and water drum, the respective ends of the other thermostat beingeonnectedrrto the Water space of said steam and water drum and to said steam V drum, the remote ends of said thermostats bei ng fixed, and levers operatively connect- 111g.v together the adjacent ends of said'thermostatsand operatively connecting them to said feed-Water valve.

hand.

In testimony whereof, hereunto set my VINCENT V. VEENSCHOTEN. 

